Visual-Spatial Learners

SARAH…I think I missed your post last week about Davis methods… I am a ‘Pro Davis’ Mom who came to the same conclusions you have. I am broke and my son is just turned 8 and has improved greatly using Davis techniques at home, so we are not going to a provider at present…but there is a great forum for dyslexics at www.dyslexiatalk.com, and you would be VERY welcome — we have several from the UK and you might find it helpful to talk to others who have used or are using Davis methods. The forum is not restricted to those using Davis methods though — anyone interested in helping alleviate the effects of dyslexia, in themselves or others, is MORE than welcome.

I have learned a great deal from this bb (ldonline) because of the many different children represented here…as you say, the key is to research everything and try it all until you find what works for YOUR child…nothing else will do. Best wishes!
Elizabeth (lizzybee)

can take a child to about a 3rd grade reading level. At that point, if the child hasn’t learned decoding skills (which is what Phono-Graphix is good at teaching), he “hits the wall” with reading. The human memory can hold only so many sightwords (I think it’s about 3,000). Beyond a 3rd grade reading level, decoding skills are necessary in order to handle the wide variety of words encountered in reading material (about 30,000 words minimum for literacy?).

Personally, I would do Phono-Graphix first and Davis later. A lot of children need only 12 hours of Phono-Graphix to be reading at grade level, which makes it much less expensive in terms of both money and time invested. Also, PG is eminently suitable for a 7yo, whereas Davis is more likely to be successful with a child who is 8, 9 or 10 (I think someone posted about this over on the Reading or Teaching board within the last week or so).

If you still aren’t sure, I would suggest getting the book “Reading Reflex” and try tutoring your son yourself using the methodology. A lot of children respond surprisingly quickly to this approach, even with a parent who has no prior teaching experience. This is what I did when my daughter was 8-1/2 and still reading on a preschool level.

Mary

Sounds like you’ve weighed lots of good information and are giving this a good shot — and realize that nothing’s the miracle answer to all life’s problems, but this looks like a good next step. Reading Reflex wouldn’t be ruled out — visual or not, if he’s going to be a good reader he’ll need to learn the sound-symbol connections. You’re attracted to the programme ‘cause it makes sense.

The bottom line is that no matter how strongly a visual-spatial learner you are, the spoken language is best processed auditorially. Reading is simply spoken language expressed visually — but it’s not picture language. The symbols stand for things you hear, even if the rules are convoluted and confusing. They’re still rules about the sounds. The word “cat” doesn’t look like one.

Linda Silverman’s list indicates that the visual-spatial learner “learns sight words better than phonics.” Substitute “easier” for “Better.” Yes, it will come easier. I’ve taught *lots and lots* of these kids - when they’re in high school and college. Yes, I do work with sight word recognition of lots of common words and all through reading with my visual spatial kids. It’s a strength, so I use it a lot. HOwever, instead of saying “okay, auditory is weaker than visual, so we just won’t make you use it” — that’s a grave injustice. It’s weaker — so let it atrophy. The kids that really excel are the ones that get taught the auditory stuff at a pace that’s appropriate for them, so they *can* master sounding out words. (It’s also a lot harder to teach a kid to attend to the sounds if they’ve been memorizing the visuals for years — but these are the kids who will do fine until oh, even sixth or eighth grade if they’re very bright… and read vacation for vaccination. They’ll be the ones the schools say “why do you expect him to be in the college prep classes? He just can’t keep up with the language demands!”

One thing to realize is that “visual-spatial” vs. “auditory-sequential” learning is only one way to look at learning. Spatial and sequential aren’t mutually exclusive — you *can* be a visual learner who learns things sequentially or an auditory learner who nonetheless needs to start from the “big picture.” (On the other hand, if your kiddo’s a clear “visual-spatial” — don’t complicate things ;)) That comparison list grossly oversimplifies things, as any auditory-sequential learner with traits from both sides of that chart can testify. (I should add that I like most of that site and what Dr. SIlverman says & does! She does a world of good! That’s part of why that list aggravates me ;))

I have to agree with MaryMN. Sight words will get your son to about 3rd grade level and then he will start to struggle. My daughter also scored very high on the visual spatial subtests with scores in the high superior range. I had initially tried to teacher her to sound out words but with no formal training in this area, I was unsuccessful so I worked on sight words instead. By grade 6 she was still only reading at a grade 3 level, even though her globally superior WISC-III score indicated she should be reading 2 years above grade level! Try to get a copy of “Why Our Children Can’t Read : And What We Can Do About It : A Scientific Revolution in Reading” by Diane McGuinness. (Amazon.com has it)
McGuinness gives a very strong argument for teaching phonemes, the basis of language. My daughter has done FastForword and is about halfway through Lindamood LIPS. Although it is too early to do a formal assessment, I can tell you that she is sounding out words that are totally unfamiliar to her in the newspaper with great success. She is finally decoding long words instead of guessing words based on the 1st letter and actually reads the suffixes “ing”, “ly”, etc. which she never did before.

Once more, thanks for all the feedback. It is great to see everybody’s viewpoint. You are all presenting me with a lot to think about…..

As always, like with everything, I do wish there were some definite, black and white, yes and no answers!

I suppose I must admit to liking the idea of my son going somewhere else for a concentrated 30 hours and getting help….. Our interpersonal dynamics make my helping him a complete no-no - I am the big bad monster who makes him do his homework etc - so, whatever help he has, has to come from an ‘outsider’. Infact it was the idea of paying someone to help with homework for an hour everyday which made me take the idea further and start thinking ‘out-of-school’ dyslexia therapist as I would be digging into my pocket anyway!

Thank you all for now

Sarah
PS - I do TRY not to be a monster at homework time but very occasionally my patience falters and I am sure he can sense my head metaphorically sinking deep into my hands as I watch him erase a version of the word ‘the’ for the sixth time - I mean, How many different ways can you spell ‘the’? I tell you, my son knows ALL of them!

You can email or call to locate certified PG tutors in your area.

The usual PG course is 12 hours of direct instruction. Even if you double that to 24 hours, it would still be a lot less expensive than Davis.

PG website is http://www.readamerica.net

Mary

I hear you Sarah, it is very frustrating to tutor your own child and to try to hide the emotional response you have to the child’s constant failure. I find the more I learn about the disability, the more objective I become. My husband does a much better job of being my daughter’s homework tutor, he has a tremendous imagination and sense of humour and always manages to distract her with a joke when the “melt down” is about to occur. Having a professional teach your child is the best solution, because he or she doesn’t have the emotional connection and the child can’t get away with pushing their buttons the way they are so skillful at pushing ours.